Weapon sight

ABSTRACT

The present invention advantageously provides a shotgun sight system to assist a one-eyed shooter. The shotgun sight system is comprised of a front sight and a back sight. The sights are raised above the top of the shotgun barrel to allow an increased field of view below the barrel to shooters with the habit of closing one eye. The front sight is comprised of a front vertical plate mounted to a channel that may be coupled to the ribbing of a shotgun. A cylindrical sight is coupled along the top end of the front vertical plate. The back sight is further comprised of a back vertical plate mounted to a channel that may be coupled to the ribbing of a shotgun.

This application claims priority to provisional patent application No. 60/478,030 filed on Jun. 12, 2003 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to weapon sights. More particularly, the present invention relates to shotgun sights for a one-eyed shooter.

2. Related Art

Shotgun alignment sights come in several varieties. In the simplest situation the shooter lines the target up with the uppermost surface of the shotgun barrel, which may be the actual barrel or a ribbed portion running along the top. Alternatively, some shotgun designs incorporate a small bead at a fixed location at the end of the barrel. The shooter lines this bead up along the length of the barrel to properly sight the gun. Other designs incorporate a front and a rear sight to allow increased adjustability and accuracy in sighting.

Proper aiming and shooting with a shotgun requires the use of both eyes. However, it is estimated that 80% of the nearly 15 million shooters in North America have the habit of closing one eye when shooting. These shooters use their dominant eye to sight along the gun barrel while closing their non-dominant eye. Because of this, they have no field of view below the plane of the shotgun, causing them to easily lose sight of fast moving objects that are dropping in that general direction. Objects that are rising from the plane of the shotgun, however, remain in the shooter's field of view and thus can be readily tracked. In other words, these shooters create a blind spot the size of a 40 inch circle at 40 feet when closing one eye. Opening the non-dominant eye allows the shooter to visualize targets below the plane of the shotgun, however one eyed shooting is a habit that is difficult to break.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention advantageously provides a shotgun sight system to assist a one-eyed shooter. The shotgun sight system is comprised of a front sight and a back sight. The sights are raised above the top of the shotgun barrel to allow an increased field of view below the barrel to shooters with the habit of closing one eye. The front sight is comprised of a front vertical plate having a top end and a bottom end, and having a length from the top end to the bottom end of from about ¼ inch to about 1¼ inch in height. The system further includes a cylindrical sight coupled along its longitudinal axis to the top end of the front vertical plate. A front sight channel having a middle section and two opposing legs configured to be coupled to a ribbing of a shotgun barrel may be attached to the bottom end of the front vertical plate. The front sight channel may also have a plurality of threaded holes in the opposing legs of the channel to facilitate its attachment to the ribbing of a shotgun barrel.

The back sight is further comprised of a back vertical plate having a top end and a bottom end, and having a length from the top end to the bottom end of from about ¼ inch to about 1{fraction (1/4)} inch in height. A back sight channel having a middle section and two opposing legs configured to be coupled to a ribbing of a shotgun barrel may be attached to the bottom end of the back vertical plate. The back sight channel may also have a plurality of threaded holes in the opposing legs of the channel to facilitate its attachment to the ribbing of a shotgun barrel.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a weapon sight system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a shotgun sight system in which the viewing elements of the sights are lined up in a location that is raised above the top of the shotgun barrel. Sights in which the viewing elements are lined up along the barrel of the shotgun create a significant disadvantage to shooters that close one eye when aiming. A one-eyed shooter may be defined as any shooter who closes, squints or covers one eye when shooting. Due to this eye-closing behavior, the field of view below the plane of the shotgun is blocked by the barrel. This causes these individuals to easily lose sight of fast moving objects that are dropping in that general direction. Raising the position of the viewing elements of the sights above the barrel of the shotgun moves the barrel from the shooter's plane of view, thus allowing objects to be tracked as they pass below the sight.

FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of a shotgun sight system to assist a one-eyed shooter according to the present invention. This embodiment consists of a front sight 10 and a back sight 20. The front sight 10 may be comprised of a front vertical plate 12, with the front vertical plate 12 having a length of about ½ inch to about 1¼ inch in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 11 of the shotgun barrel 13. The front vertical plate 12 may be constructed of any stiff material known to one skilled in the art, including but not limited to plastic, nylon, and metals such as aluminum, brass, or steel. The front vertical plate 12 is mounted along the longitudinal axis 11 of a front sight channel 14 by any means known to one skilled in the art, such as gluing, welding or screwing. The front sight channel 14 may be attached to the ribbing 15 of a shotgun barrel 13. The legs of the front sight channel 14 may have a plurality of holes 16 drilled therein to facilitate attachment to the ribbing 15. This attachment may be by means of set screws that allow displacement of the sight along the ribbing, by permanent screws drilled into the ribbing, or by any other means known to one skilled in the art. A cylindrical sight 18 may be coupled along its longitudinal axis to the end of the front vertical plate 12 opposite the end attached to the front sight channel 16. The cylindrical sight 18 is generally approximately {fraction (1/4)} inch in diameter; however the present invention contemplates that the cylindrical sight 18 may be of any diameter known to one skilled in the art. The cylindrical sight 18 may be coupled to the front vertical plate 12 by any means known to one skilled in the art, such as gluing, welding or screwing. Alternatively, the cylindrical sight 18, the front vertical plate 12, and the front sight channel 16 may be die-cast as a single piece.

The back sight 20 may be comprised of a back vertical plate 22, with the back vertical plate 22 having a length of about {fraction (1/4)} inch to about 1¼ inch in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 11 of the shotgun barrel 13. The back vertical plate 22 may be constructed of any stiff material known to one skilled in the art, including but not limited to plastic, nylon, and metals such as aluminum, brass, or steel. The back vertical plate 22 is mounted along the longitudinal axis 11 of a back sight channel 24 by any means known to one skilled in the art, such as gluing, welding or screwing. The back sight channel 24 may be attached to the ribbing 15 of a shotgun barrel 13, in a position proximal to the shooter relative to the front sight 10. The legs of the back sight channel 24 may have a plurality of holes 26 drilled therein to facilitate attachment to the ribbing 15. This attachment may be by means of set screws, permanent screws drilled into the ribbing, or by any other means known to one skilled in the art. Alternatively, the back vertical plate 22, and the back sight channel 26 may be die-cast as a single piece.

It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are illustrative of the application for the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention while the present invention has been shown in the drawings and described above in connection with the exemplary embodiments(s) of the invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims. 

1. A shotgun sight system to assist a one-eyed shooter, comprising: a) a front sight, further comprising; 1) a front vertical plate having a top end and a bottom end, the front vertical plate being from about {fraction (1/4)} inch to about {fraction (1/4)} inch in height; 2) a cylindrical sight coupled along a longitudinal axis to the top end of the front vertical plate; 3) a front sight channel having a middle section and two opposing legs configured to be coupled to a rib of a shotgun barrel, the front sight channel having a plurality of threaded holes in the opposing legs of the front sight channel, wherein the middle section of the front sight channel is coupled to the bottom end of the front vertical plate; b) a back sight, further comprising; 1) a back vertical plate having a top end and a bottom end, the back vertical plate being from about {fraction (1/4)} inch to about 1{fraction (1/4)} inch in height; 2) a back sight channel having a middle section and two opposing legs configured to be coupled to a rib of a shotgun barrel, the back sight channel having a plurality of threaded holes in the opposing legs of the back sight channel, wherein the middle section of the back sight channel is coupled to the bottom end of the back vertical plate; 